Celebrity Death

Ex-UCLA basketball star Billy Knight was arrested back in June after officials say he sexually abused a child ... and sources say the victim was only 9 years old.

TMZ Sports has learned ... in the weeks before Knight apparently killed himself, the 39-year-old was arrested and charged with 6 felonies for sexual encounters involving a girl under the age of 15.

Officials tell us ... Knight was arrested in Phoenix, Arizona on June 13.

Prosecutors in Maricopa County charged Knight with multiple counts of sexual conduct with a minor, sexual abuse and molestation of a child.

In court docs, obtained by TMZ Sports, prosecutors say some of the abuse took place at the victim's home -- and on her mother's bed.

Arizona is particularly tough when it comes to sex crimes involving minors -- and it appears he was facing more than 50 YEARS in prison if convicted on all charges.

Knight posted his $100,000 bail and was released from custody in June -- but ordered to wear an electronic monitoring device.

However, the victim's mother told cops Knight violated the terms of his release by contacting her several times and even appearing at her home.

He was due back in court in the coming weeks.

Cops have arrested a second suspect in XXXTentacion's murder case.

According to cops, 22-year-old Michael Boatwright was arrested on a drug charge on July 5 ... and then served with an arrest warrant for first degree murder on July 10.

Detectives are calling Boatwright a gunman in XXX's murder and say they're still looking for an additional gunman.

Boatwright has a lengthy criminal past with several drug charges as well as an arrest for battery. He's also had several mental competency hearings. According to the arrest report, when he was arrested on July 5, cops discovered there was a DNA warrant out for Boatwright.

As we reported ... the Broward County Sheriff's Office also identified 22-year-old Robert Allen as a person of interest in connection with the killing of the 20-year-old rapper. Cops had said Allen was on surveillance video at the motorcycle shop in Pompano Beach where XXX was shopping before he was brutally gunned down. Allen is still wanted.

XXXTentacion is gone, but his estate has every intention of keeping his name alive -- not just through his music, but with fashion too.

The late rapper's camp has applied for a trademark to put his name on a bunch of streetwear, including jerseys, jackets, hats, t-shirts, sweats, collared shirts and hoodies.

The application -- obtained by TMZ -- was filed at the end of June, after XXXTentacion was fatally gunned down in his car in South Florida. Cops have made one arrest in the case, and have warrants out for two other suspects still on the loose.

What's cooler than your copy of "Purple Rain" on vinyl? Try owning one of Prince's personal copies on vinyl!!

Some 27 items previously owned by Prince are hitting the auction block -- thanks to The Purple One's old bodyguard -- and the memorabilia is expected to fetch several thousand bucks. For instance, the starting bid for the record alone is $1,500.

One of Prince's Jehovah's Witness Bibles is also in the lot, and is expected to fetch $7k. But the crown jewel of the collection has to be Prince's navy silk suit ... which has a starting bid of $10k!

The auction also includes some of his wedged shoes, cuff links, an ear cuff, a pair of sunglasses and a bunch of Prince's old backstage passes.

Ex-UCLA star and renowned basketball trainer Billy Knight was found dead in Phoenix on Sunday after posting an apparent video suicide note ... cops confirm to TMZ Sports.

The 39-year-old posted a YouTube video early Sunday morning saying it was "probably my last message on Earth" ... and noting, "My time is up."

In the video, an emotional Knight talks about depression and apologizes to friends and family. He also advises people suffering from mental illness to seek help, so they don't end up like him.

Shortly after the video was posted, the Phoenix P.D. says officers found Knight's body in a roadway in downtown Phoenix.

Officers say, "No evidence of foul play was detected," but the body has been sent to the Medical Examiner to determine the cause of death.

Knight broke out at UCLA in 2001 -- when he started all 33 games and averaged 14 points on 46 percent shooting from the floor.

After going undrafted in 2002, he played in the NBA's D-league for a bit before heading overseas.

The news of Knight's death has rocked the basketball community ... with ex-NBA star Matt Barnes saying, "Rest Easy My Brotha! Your summer time beach workouts had me in the best shape of my life to start every season!"

R.I.P.

Several guitars once owned by Marilyn Manson's leading guitarist, Daisy Berkowitz, including the one he used to record "Dope Hat," are being auctioned off in the wake of his death.

Daisy Berkowitz was the alias of Scott Putesky, who co-founded Marilyn Manson and The Spooky Kids with Manson back in the '90s. Berkowitz died last October of stage 4 colon cancer and now several items, including his resignation letter from the band, will be available to fans ... for a price.

Goldin Auctions is handling the sale and, next to the instruments, the resignation letter's got one of the heftiest starting bids at $1,000. In it, Berkowitz lists his reasons for quitting the band, including "personal frustrations with band members," “lack of writing cooperation," and “lack of financial compensation for business, blah blah and blah…”

He left during the making of "Antichrist Superstar" and later sued Manson for royalties.

Here are some of the other items that are being auctioned off with their opening bids ...

-- Fender Lego Bass Guitar ... $2,500
-- Tenor Saxophone Used in Marilyn Manson "Get Your Gunn" Video ... $1,000
-- Original Sheet Music For "Thrift", "Lunchbox" & "Luci in the Sky With Demons" ... $1,500
-- 1993 Marilyn Manson Handwritten Contract Between Brian Warner & Scott Putesky ... $1,500
-- Daisy Berkowitz Personally Owned & Worn Scottish Kilt ... $500

Tyler Honeycutt -- a former UCLA hoops standout and Sacramento King -- was found dead early Saturday morning after a police shootout and standoff at his L.A. area home ... TMZ Sports has confirmed.

According to LAPD ... it doesn't appear as if Honeycutt was struck by any gunfire in the shootout, but "appears to have sustained injuries consistent with a self-inflicted gunshot wound." We're told a gun was found on the scene.

LAPD tells us ... officers responded to a call of a man with a gun at Honeycutt's Sherman Oaks residence after 5 PM Friday, and upon arrival -- he fired a shot at them. We're told cops fired back, but no officers were injured.

After an hours-long standoff -- SWAT entered his home and found Honeycutt unresponsive. He was declared dead at the scene by the fire department.

Honeycutt's mother was reportedly the one who called police Friday, saying her son was acting erratically.

Honeycutt was a UCLA basketball star, earning All-Pac-10 first team honors in 2011 as a sophomore, before being drafted by the Kings in the second round. He played in parts of 2 seasons with them, before heading to Europe to play pro ball.

The man who helped Stan Lee create 2 legendary Marvel superheroes -- Spider-Man and Doctor Strange -- has died at his home in New York ... TMZ has learned.

Steve Ditko was found unresponsive in his NYC apartment on June 29 when a social worker who hadn't heard from him in a while went to Steve's home to check on him ... according to law enforcement.

The chief medical examiner listed the cause of death as arteriosclerotic and hypertensive cardiovascular disease -- basically, a heart attack brought on by clogged arteries.

Ditko was one of the most acclaimed comic book artists of all time, best known for creating Spider-Man with Lee in 1962, and Doctor Strange a year later. The stories they crafted together inspired the 2016 "Doctor Strange" film starring Benedict Cumberbatch.

While Stan became the face of Marvel and "The Godfather of Comic Books" to the public, Steve remained enigmatic over the years -- refusing to do interviews or make public appearances. He continued to work at a Manhattan studio, though, until at least 2012.

Steve was 90.

The Colombia national soccer team got one helluva homecoming on Thursday -- with thousands of fans lining up in Bogota to show support -- just days after they were eliminated from the World Cup.

Star players like Falcao and Juan Cuadrado got giant ovations alongside teammates Abel Aguilar, David Ospina and Yerry Mina.

Colombia made it to the Round of 16 -- but, they were ultimately eliminated by England on Tuesday after the match went to penalty kicks.

Disappointing end for Colombia -- but, the team showed heart and resilience and the fans clearly appreciated it.

David Cassidy's ex-gf has some misguided outrage about his family storing his ashes ... because it's not what it seems.

Sources close to Cassidy's family tell TMZ ... David's ashes have been tucked away in a cremation unit since his November. David's ex, Maura Rossi, is now nuclear, claiming something untoward is going down.

Rossi thinks David has already been forgotten by his entire family and thinks they are dishonoring his memory by letting his ashes sit in storage. She says she's so upset, she can't even sleep or eat.

But here's the deal. We're told the plan all along was to wait until this summer to spread David's ashes in a place that was near and dear to his heart ... Saratoga Race Course in Saratoga Springs.

David was a horse racing nut, and wanted his ashes spread around the 154-year-old race track, which he frequented for more than 3 decades.

It's unclear when exactly the family's fulfilling David's final wish ... but, it's a good bet it'll come on August 18, when Saratoga hosts the "David Cassidy Memorial Race." Benches at Saratoga and the National Museum of Racing and Hall of Fame already bare his name.

As we reported ... David died after his organs failed. He was 67.

Marlon Jackson isn't paying attention to the negative things people have to say about his late father, Joe, because it's not how he remembers him.

We got Marlon Tuesday at LAX, a day after the Jackson clan gathered together and laid Joe to rest in a private funeral at Forest Lawn Memorial Park ... the same place where Marlon's brother, Michael, is entombed.

Marlon says the family is doing as well as can be expected. As for criticism that Joe was too harsh on his kids ... Marlon doesn't want to hear it. He wants to hold on to the good memories, of which he says there are many.

XXXTentacion's been laid to rest and won't soon be forgotten by his loving family and fans, but just to be sure ... he got a huge monument in his honor.

X's mother, Cleopatra Bernard, just shared a photo of the rapper's mausoleum with the caption ... "My guardian angel." As you can see, it's been surrounded by flowers, too.

His private funeral was held Thursday in Florida, and was reportedly attended by fellow rappers Lil Uzi Vert and Lil Yachty, and singer Erykah Badu.

'WWE Tough Enough 3' winner Matt Cappotelli -- who bravely fought through two rounds of cancer -- has passed away ... this according to his wife.

"Today my love-my strong, sweet, beautiful love-took his last breath at 3:30 a.m. and went Home to be with Jesus exactly one year after his brain surgery," Lindsay Cappotelli wrote in a statement.

"You think you can be prepared for this when you know it’s coming, but you just can’t."

"The only person who’s comfort I want right now is the one who can’t give it to me. I miss him so much. I know where he is now is so much better, but it doesn’t change how much I miss him."

Back in June 2017, TMZ Sports reported on Matt's second surgery to remove a brain tumor -- over 10 years after he had one removed and had his pro wrestling career cut short.

But, in December, things took a turn for the worse ... doctors say he had a Grade 4 tumor that could not be operated on because it was too close to his brain stem.

Cappotelli fought like hell and will definitely be remembered as a warrior inside and out of the ring.

Hugh Dane -- who played the popular security guard on "The Office" -- died from pancreatic cancer ... this according to his death certificate.

According to the doc -- obtained by TMZ -- Hugh Anthony Dane died on May 16, 2018 at 10:56 PM at his home in L.A. Pancreatic cancer is listed as the cause of death. As we reported ... a nonprofit org Hugh was involved with announced his death, but it was unclear exactly how or when he died.

The death certificate also lists Hugh's occupation as an actor with 40 years experience in the entertainment industry. Besides his recurring role as Dunder Mifflin's Scranton branch enforcer ... Hugh also appeared on "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," "Martin," "Boy Meets World," "The West Wing" and "Friends."

Pantera drummer Vinnie Paul is going to be laid to rest in his forever hardware, identical to that of his late bandmate and brother ... courtesy of none other than Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley.

Sources close to Vinnie's family tell TMZ that the recently deceased musician and Pantera co-founder will be buried in a custom KISS casket provided by Simmons and co.

We're told the casket was offered as a gift at Vinnie's family's request. His brother, "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott was buried in the original prototype in 2004 after his untimely death. As we reported ... Vinnie died in his sleep this past week, but the cause of death is unknown for now. He was 54.

Vinnie will also be buried in some of his clothes -- including his hat, shoes and flannel ... among other items. We're told Vinnie will be put into the ground Saturday at the same cemetery in Arlington, TX, where Darrell and his mom lie.

The guy who sentenced the 'Seinfeld' squad to a year behind bars in the series finale -- and who helped turned Willem Dafoe into the Green Goblin -- has died.

Actor Stanley Anderson passed away Sunday just six weeks after being diagnosed with brain cancer, according to a family statement obtained by The Hollywood Reporter.

Anderson is perhaps best known at Judge Arthur Vandelay, who presided over Jerry Seinfeld and co.'s criminal trial in season 9's final episode, where the gang was thrown in jail for violating the "Good Samaritan Law" in a fake town in Massachusetts.

He also played General Slocum in Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man" -- who told Norman Osborn he was gonna cut his funding if he didn't try his ability enhancing serum on a human subject ... thus forcing Norm to try it on himself and become Spidey's arch nemesis.

Anderson has starred in a number of other movies and shows over the years, including parts in "RoboCop 3," "Armageddon," "Runaway Jury," "NYPD Blue," "The Drew Carey Show," "Law & Order," and many, many others. His acting career dates back to the '50s.

He tended to play men of authority -- doctors, judges, psychiatrists ... the President. Makes sense too ... he had quite the on-camera presence.